Newspapers / The lance. / Oct. 22, 2004, edition 1 / Page 8
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8 OP-ED Week of October 22nd. These Times Are Changing Gilbert Abraham Staff Writer We all go through change, and it is necessary, but it does not have to be a turbulent change if people do their part to help each other out. Before a change, any change, a hopeful person, a person with an imagination would want for there would be some forewarning before the change. Someone who cared for others would give those they cared about a heads up. I do not condone drug use of any kind and I avidly abstain from drug use . . . but, and this is a but that has nothing to do with drugs but simple concepts and principles, if there is a change in f)olicy or in administration then the f>eople affected by that change should be informed. No, I am not saying to give them a means to use drugs in secrecy or private, but that people need to be clear on the expectations and goals of an administration. Basically what I am saying is that if something is going to change something that affeas certain people in a different way, common courtesy would be to inform those people of that change in a clear, objective and con crete way so all is made clear before sledgehammers are swung haphazardly. An aaion was taken before school started that was appropriate, but inconsistent with prior actions taken by different administrations. One would argue that the actions taken were the best way to set a tone, but I would argue that students are civil and mature people and they should be given the respea that any other man or women would or should deserve. If there was a piece of legislation that took affect tomorrow and anyone caught J-walking would be thrown in jail over night, I would like to be informed of that. J- walking is illegal but it is not a law that is often enforced, so to punish people for doing something that is not enforced or executed without a relative con stancy, I believe is wrong. I would like to see a forum or a newsletter addressing an agenda, highlighting the character and goals that a new head of Administration would like to see occur in his territory, much like President Deegan did when he first arrived. If this newsletter or forum was held then all people affeaed by this agenda in the aftermath could then say that they were informed of the repercussions that would follow if a given act were committed. Parents, in order to discipline their children properly, must make sure that when it comes to certain things their child can predict with abso lute, 100% accuracy what will hapf>en if they commit an act that has been highlighted as a no-no. I believe drug use on a college campus is a no-no, according to national law, state law, and campus law. And it is the personal belief of most of our educational leaders. It is not what was done but how it was done that disturbs me, I com mend the conviction and authority used to make a decision that was for the benefit of this institution but I do not applaud the lack responsibility in in forming and preparing the student body for that change. I believe that was a failure of the caretakers that have been charged with the duty to defend and uphold the rights of the Saint Andrews students. Gilbert Abraham graduated from SAPC in 2004. He has returned this year to pick up some education credits. He wrote for the first year of The Lance and plans to continue to write for The Lance while he’s here. Continued from page 7 unique culture and then equalize the cultures so that the races would be equalized. And when they began giving out worldviews to non-white groups, they specifically chose those that were anti-American and espe cially anti-Christian. They encour aged people not to look at the great things that Americas unique system of government and Christian-based culture offers its people, but to fully regret its existence and to deny any ties other than what existed before The Declaration and The Constitu tion were drafted. And those with a non-American worldview have as their foundational identity not only in the ideas themselves, but in the race of the person who holds them. The true solution to racism in Chris tian America should have been to recognize that identifying a person by their skin color is a flawed idea and to open the gates to the great fruits of the Judeo-Christian culture to all, regardless of the person’s race. Christianity has gone through a ref ormation of sorts and has correaly done away with racist ideas so that Christianity has embraced Chris tians of all races. This fact has been purposely ignored by the education elite and they repeatedly teach im pressionable minds that anything Christian is anything Caucasian and dierefore to be avoided. Linking race and culture is the key flaw in multiculturalism. It is ar gued that if a white person says that he will not accept a black person be cause of the beliefs or attitudes of the black person, then the white person is being racist. Why? Because we are taught that if a black person holds a very different worldview than a white person, then it must because that person is black. So, in the name of “cultural diversity,” which is a rouse for ideological diversity, the white person is told that he must accept the blacks person choice of worldviews as equal to his own because he is told that to criticize the worldview is to criticize the skin color of the person who holds it. Lrt’s look at a com mon example. Say a black person is an avowed atheist and then requests a leadership position in a Christian church that is predominately white. If the church refuses, they can be sued on the grounds of racial dis crimination. Again, it is because a person’s racial identity is viewed as the foundation of his worldview and the church’s congregation’s ra cial identity the foundation of their worldview, when race has nothing to do with what they both believe. This is also why a black person who becomes a Christian or conservative, such as Alan Keyes or Condoleezza Rice, is ridiculed and ostracized. In the multicultural mind eye, as a black person, they should think black thoughts, which are assumed to be liberal or non-Christian. A person is born with his skin color already chosen and cannot be held morally responsible for what color he is, but he can held responsible for the worldview he chooses. In this way, we can choose Chrisrians to run for political offices and rejea those do not hold to the Judeo-Christian worldview, such as atheists or social ists. In the past few years, to do this has been called racist, but race has nothing to do with it. It is impor tant that a certain idea or worldview be preserved, regardless of the race of those who hold it. The linking of race and culture through multiculturalism has served to divide our country along racial and cultural lines instead of having “One nation under God.” If we are to be effeaive in our communities and preserving those core values that have made America great, then we need to recognize that those ideas come from a Judeo-Christian worldview and it is not only white people who are called to embrace them and reap the ben efits they provide. If a person works to undermine the very values that make us strong, they should not be allowed to use their race as justifica tion for their worldview or use race as a tool to silence debate. What ultimately matters is that we remain a Christian nation and rec ognize that the dominance of a Ju- deo-Christian culture is paramount to the freedoms we enjoy. Race is ir relevant when choosing with whom we stand. We do not need a Black Student Union, we need an Ameri can Student Union. npininriK (ncpre^ed in the ()pinions-Editorials section of Ihe Lance are soleLy those of the author and do not necessarily rt>pprt tho npininnM of The Lance staffer St. Andrews Presbyterian College.
Oct. 22, 2004, edition 1
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